Sectarian persecution of Shia Muslims has been a long-running fracture in Pakistan, exacerbated by the proxy wars fought on Pakistan soil by Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia and Shia-majority Iran, as well as the US war on terror. He is one of over 50 Shia Muslims in Sunni-majority Pakistan, who have been booked under blasphemy and antiterrorist charges over the last month. Embassy officers continued to engage civil society leaders, local religious leaders, religious minority representatives, and legal experts in discussing ways to combat intolerance and promote interfaith cooperation to increase religious freedom. In June, the Punjab Provincial Assembly unanimously passed the Curriculum and Text Book Board Amendment Bill, which Governor Chaudhary Muhammad Sarwar signed into law. On October 9, a Hindu teacher was attacked by a Muslim man with an axe on her way to her school in Mithi, Sindh. According to the bill, all publishers would be required to submit to the Directorate General Public Relations, the provincial government authority with jurisdiction over printing presses and publishing houses, four copies of every edition of each title they print. Lawmakers from the National Assembly, the Sindh Provincial Assembly, and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Assembly also adopted resolutions requiring the title last of the prophets to be used when referring to Mohammed. By one estimate, in Pakistan, the Shias are. The constitution states that no person attending any educational institution shall be required to attend religious instruction or take part in any religious ceremony relating to a religion other than the persons own. Hindu Dalits remained vulnerable to human rights violations and pressure by perpetrators to withdraw police cases. For example, in March, media reported that a woman from Meghwar committed suicide after being repeatedly raped by a man of an upper-caste Hindu clan in Deeplo, Sindh. In April, some members of the Hindu community in Karachis Lyari area were denied food packages provided by a local charity, according to local sources. Shias in Pakistan reputedly account for about 20 percent of the population or 42 million out of the population of 210 million making it the second largest Shia population in the world outside Iran. The law bans the sale of Ahmadiyya religious literature. "No one knew where I was for 21 . Police arrested more than 45 JUI-F followers and clerics involved in the destruction. According to 1961 Census -- the first in the state after Partition, Muslims constituted 68.3 per cent of Jammu and Kashmir's population. How many Shia are in India? The Punjab Sikh Anand Karaj Marriage Act allows local government officials in that province to register marriages between a Sikh man and Sikh woman solemnized by a Sikh Anand Karaj marriage registrar. In July, the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) demanded that the federal interior ministry prevent the Ahmadi community from sacrificing animals on Eid al-Adha. The court acquitted a second Christian in December. The attackers relationship to organized terrorist groups was often unclear. The constitution establishes a Federal Shariat Court (FSC) composed of Muslim judges to examine and decide whether any law or provision is repugnant to the injunctions of Islam. The constitution gives the FSC the power to examine a law of its own accord or at the request of the government or a private citizen. Despite these problems some international organizations have researched and reported some statistics. The constitution requires the President and Prime Minister to be Muslims. According to an unofficial and unverified estimate, between 700 and 5,000 Pakistan Shias from Karachi, Parachinar, and Gilgit-Baltistan, recruited by Iran, went to Syria to fight against the. The constitution states, Subject to law, public order, and morality, every citizen shall have the right to profess, practice, and propagate his religion. It also states, A person of the Qadiani group or the Lahori group (who call themselves Ahmadis) is a non-Muslim. The courts continued to enforce blasphemy laws, punishment for which ranges up to the death penalty. There is no provision in the law for atheists. Parliament, church leaders, and advocates continued to debate the text of a draft law to govern Christian marriages nationwide, because the existing regulation dated from 1872. Some activists reported receiving death threats because of their work. On January 29, an antiterrorism court in Lahore acquitted and ordered the release of 42 individuals accused of participating in the 2015 lynching of two Muslim men in Lahore. Khattaks brother, who witnessed the killing, named two suspects in his criminal complaint, including a friend of Khattak a lecturer from the University of Agriculture in Peshawar with whom Khattak had had a heated religious argument on October 4. Islamic and minority religious leaders endorsed the code. By law, madrassahs are prohibited from teaching or encouraging sectarian or religious hatred or violence. Ayaz also spoke at a seminar on interfaith harmony at the cultural center at the National Library of Pakistan in Islamabad. On September 30, media reported that a 17-year-old girl from a Hindu Dalit community committed suicide after having been gang-raped a year earlier by Muslim men and subsequently blackmailed by them in Tharparkar, Sindh. by Senge Sering in Baltimore Post Examiner, Feb 27, 2023 The writer is the President of Gilgit Baltistan Institute in Washington D.C. After Iran and India, Pakistan has the world's third-largest Shia community, accounting for ten percent of the total population. Although the government continued to implement elevated security measures around Hazara neighborhoods in Quetta, some Hazara community members continued to state that these measures had turned their neighborhoods into isolated ghettos. ASWJ had previously been banned in Pakistan under the Anti-Terrorism Act before it was lifted in 2018 but is still globally considered a terrorist organisation. The blasphemy charges against Jaffar were followed by anti-Shia rallies throughout the country and at least three rallies in Karachi by Sunni groups on September 11 and 13 attended by thousands of individuals. Citing a sanitation job advertisement issued by the Sindh provincial government, HRCP stated such advertisements infringed on human dignity and violated the constitutional guarantee of equality of all citizens. The economy will contract by 1.3 percent in the 2020 fiscal year because of the pandemic, the World Bank predicts. The youngest was three years old. His was the first acquittal for blasphemy since October 2018, when Asia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death in 2010, was acquitted. U.S. government cultural centers in Khairpur, Hyderabad, and Karachi held events to promote religious freedom. The division between Sunni and Shi'a is nearly as old as Islam itself, having stemmed from a disagreement in AD 632 about who should succeed . On October 19, the PTA lifted the block after the government received reassurances from the company that it would more closely regulate content, but NGOs and activists expressed concern that the government could use this authority to target religious minorities. I am being targeted because I am from a Shia religious minority. Members of religious minorities, particularly lower-caste Hindus, complained of forceful evictions from their homes and villages by individuals desiring their land with assistance from government officials. NGOs lobbying for amendments to permit divorce in a wider range of circumstances praised the Ministry of Human Rights efforts to consult with stakeholders and the ministrys overall efforts to accelerate progress on the bill. Christian advocates also called on the government to allow them to travel to Israel. The law prohibits publishing any criticism of Islam or its prophets or insults to others religious beliefs. In 2018 the Islamabad High Court issued a judgment requiring citizens to declare an affidavit of faith to join the armed forces, judiciary, and civil services and directed parliament to amend laws to ensure Ahmadis did not use Islamic terms or have names associated with Islam. Shias live in terror as sectarian violence increases in Pakistan In April 2021, Human Rights Watch spoke to one Pakistani Shia man who spent nearly a month in UAE detention and was released and deported in late December 2020. Mr Haider is one of 140 Pakistani Shias to have "disappeared" over the past two years, according to community activists. 03 / Select Countries You can add more than one country or area. The girls family said they feared she had been forced to convert and marry a Muslim. Governor Sarwar did not sign the bill, which was promoted by the PML-Q party, noting controversy about its provisions and concerns that it could be seen as anti-Shia. extremist, and militant groups have come together to harass the Shia population right in the eyesight of the country's security apparatus. According to civil society reports, there were many individuals imprisoned on blasphemy charges and at least 35 under sentences of death, compared with 82 individuals imprisoned on blasphemy charges and 29 under sentences of death in 2019. Shia Muslims constitute 10 to 12 percent of the citizen population and an estimated 25 to 30 percent of the Eastern Province's population. Members of parliament and officials of the Ministry of Human Rights and the Ministry of Law and Justice held consultations with church leaders from prominent Christian denominations and with NGO representatives, but the denominations, church leaders, and NGO representatives had not agreed on elements of the draft law pertaining to divorce and interfaith marriage by years end. According to the constitution, there shall be no discrimination on the basis of religion in appointing individuals to government service, provided they are otherwise qualified. 2.4.1 The Shia Muslim population is estimated to be between 20 and 40 million (in . Violence has not begun, but its likelihood looms large. Civil society representatives said the bill targets Ahmadis, who do not have representation on the ulema board and who are barred by the constitution and the penal code from identifying as Muslims. The events were often covered by English and local-language media and featured anti-Ahmadiyya rhetoric which Ahmadiyya community representatives said could incite violence against Ahmadis. The population density in Pakistan is 287 per Km 2 (742 people per mi 2 ). The Sindh Hindu Marriage Act also applies to Sikh marriages. Students who identify themselves as Muslims must declare in writing they believe Mohammed is the final prophet. The story of Pakistan's 'disappeared' Shias - BBC News victims of Takfiri terrorism and govt apathy - Tehran Times Leaders in other NGOs agreed the actual number of blasphemy cases was likely higher, but uneven reporting and lack of media coverage in many areas made it difficult to identify an exact number. Other NGOs corroborated that 2020 had seen an increase in blasphemy cases. According to the Center for Social Justice, a national nongovernmental organization (NGO), at least 199 individuals were accused of blasphemy offenses, a significant increase over 2019 and the highest number of blasphemy cases in a single year in the countrys history. Since voters who registered as Ahmadis were kept on a separate voter list, they said they were more exposed to threats and physical intimidation, and many Ahmadis continued their longstanding practice of boycotting elections. A New Era of Sectarian Violence in Pakistan | Crisis Group In July, religious and right-wing parties criticized the governments plan to permit construction of a new Hindu temple in Islamabad. Bibi remained in custody at years end. On January 21, the center in Khairpur hosted a Religious Freedom Day event at which 25 students discussed the importance of being able to practice religion freely in Pakistan. Unfortunately, due to the history that Pakistan has had, especially with regards to security, this remains a huge problem, said Chaudhry. Shias account for 15-20% of the Muslim population in Pakistan. Leh's demand for UT status started in 1947 as the old statements of the former parliamentarian and religious leader, Kushok Bakula Rinpoche, indicate. A local jihadist group and a violent protest movement are driving renewed sectarian strife in Pakistan. Shares of Sikhs and Buddhists in overall population increased marginally. While the Ministry of Law and Justice was officially responsible for ensuring the legal rights of all citizens, in practice, the Ministry for Human Rights continued to assume primary responsibility for the protection of the rights of religious minorities. It stated that more than 40 cases against religious minorities were registered under the blasphemy laws in August alone. The constitution establishes Islam as the state religion but states, Subject to law, public order, and morality, every citizen shall have the right to profess, practice, and propagate his religion. According to the constitution, every citizen has the right to freedom of speech, subject to reasonable restrictions in the interest of the glory of Islam, as stipulated in the penal code. On October 22, a private business school, the Institute of Business Administration in Karachi, cancelled an online seminar that was to feature U.S.-based Ahmadi economist Dr Atif Mian, citing pressure by extremists.. Karachi, the financial hub of Pakistan, has witnessed at least four big anti-Shia rallies since September 11, held by different Sunni groups. In May, after the government announced that Ahmadis would be excluded from the National Commission for Minorities, Religious Affairs Minister Qadri said on a popular television show, Anyone supporting Ahmadis is not a Muslim. Ahmadiyya Muslim community representatives stated that the Urdu-language press frequently printed hate speech in news stories and editorials, some of which could be considered as inciting anti-Ahmadi violence. Pakistan's Shias Face Double Threat: Extremists and Their Own This requirement effectively prohibits Ahmadi Muslims from holding elected office, as they recognize a prophet subsequent to Mohammed. During his February visit to Karachi, the Department of State Special Adviser for Religious Minorities told students and faculty at Karachi Universitys Department of Islamic Studies, An inclusive society creates more space for trade and prosperity. The audience applauded his comments about the protection of religious freedom for Muslims in the United States. Perpetrators of societal violence and abuses against religious minorities often faced no legal consequences due to a lack of follow-through by law enforcement, bribes offered by the accused, and pressure on victims to drop cases. The young man and two coconspirators were indicted, taken into government custody, and were awaiting trial at years end. The plan followed a 2014 Supreme Court decision that ordered the government to take steps to ensure the rights of minorities and promote a culture of religious and social tolerance, but religious freedom activists and civil society groups said the proposal was toothless and raised concerns regarding the Religious Affairs Ministrys lack of public consultation, the limited powers of the proposed body, and the ultimate decision to exclude Ahmadis. Courts issued two new death sentences for blasphemy and sentenced another individual to five years imprisonment. Syed Kareem* has been in hiding for weeks. The killings took place during protests sparked by twin suicide bombings outside two churches there. Updated April 2020 About the Authors. A constitutional amendment devolves responsibility for minorities affairs, including religious minorities, to the provinces. Pakistan's Perpetual Shia Shame - Globalpoliticsnews The U.S. government estimates the total population at 234.4 million (midyear 2020 estimate). In May, the Cabinet approved a Religious Affairs Ministry proposal establishing a National Commission for Minorities housed within the ministry. The rallies came after police charged Shia cleric Taqi Jaffar with blasphemy on August 30 for criticizing two companions of Mohammed during a Karachi Muharram procession. 'Every year we dig mass graves': the slaughter of Pakistan's Hazara The gurdwara had been used as a government-run girls school since 1947. A large portion of . The official state religion of Iran is Shia branch of Islam. Several statues were destroyed. Religious Minorities in Pakistan: Identities, Citizenship and Social For example, the Lahore Waste Management Company continued to employ mainly Christian street sweepers, which HRCP criticized as the result of employment advertisements continuing to specify that religious minorities should apply. Christian activists also stated young women from their communities were vulnerable to forced conversions. Human Rights Report | Pakistan - Hindu American Foundation Despite these problems some international organizations have researched and reported some statistics. The Religious Affairs Ministry later issued a statement saying Ahmadis would not be included on the commission, given the religious and historical sensitivity of including Ahmadis in government institutions. According to 2017 census total house hold in Pakistan are 32205111. At least one individual was accused of spreading blasphemous content through social media under PECA. The NCHR was also mandated to conduct investigations of allegations of human rights abuses, but legal sources said the commission had little power to enforce its requests. A media report said four people, including two Shia Muslims, one Ahmadi sect member and a US citizen who renounced the Ahmadi sect, were gunned down in September 2020. The text messages stated, Sharing of blasphemy, pornography, terrorism, and other unlawful content on social media and the internet is illegal. Members of religious minority communities said there continued to be an inconsistent application of laws safeguarding minority rights and enforcement of protections of religious minorities at both the federal and provincial levels by the Ministry of Law and Justice, the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Human Rights. He fears if he is seen on the streets of Karachi, the Pakistan city he calls home, he will be a dead man walking. The high circulation daily Jang also published a lengthy editorial on the struggle to declare Ahmadis as non-Muslims in a special magazine edition. The constitution prohibits discriminatory admission based on religious affiliation to any governmental educational institution. Download Historical Data Save as Image From: To: Zoom: Current Historical U.N. The 104-member Senate has four reserved seats for non-Muslims, one from each province. NGOs, legal observers and religious minority representatives continued to raise concerns regarding the failure of lower courts to adhere to basic evidentiary standards in blasphemy cases, and the slow pace of adjudicating these cases, which led to some suspects remaining in detention for years as they waited their initial trial or appeals, and to some convicted persons spending years in prison before higher courts overturned their convictions and freed them for lack of evidence. rate of urbanization: 2.1% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) Since 2019, the NCHR has been without a mandate for a second four-year term and lacked newly appointed commissioners, making it effectively nonfunctional throughout the year. Following petitions, the court reversed its decision and declared the marriage illegal under the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act and ordered the girl placed in a shelter after she refused to return to her parents. According to her parents, the girl had been abducted and raped after being forcibly converted to Islam in Karachi. Civil society members reported authorities took no action to prevent attacks on Ahmadi mosques or punish assailants who demolished, damaged, forcibly occupied, or set fire to Ahmadi mosques. Qataris are all Muslims and followers of the Sunni Salafi version of Islam. According to the nonprofit Middle East Media Research Institute, the December edition of the Urdu language TTP magazine Journal of The Tehreek-E-Taliban Pakistan blamed the Jews and their puppets for the COVID-19 pandemic and for harassing Muslims during the pandemic. Ahmadis continued to report widespread societal harassment and discrimination against community members, including physical attacks, destruction of homes and personal property, and threats intended to force Ahmadis to abandon their jobs or towns. Ahmadi Muslim leaders said they had never been approached about participating in the commission and would never join a body that required them to identify as non-Muslims.